wildlife matters

Spring 2016

AWC-Defence partnership to protect Kimberley jewel

Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 1 Saving ’s threatened wildlife

Welcome to the Spring 2016 edition of Wildlife Matters. The AWC mission

As you will discover in the following pages, this is a particularly important edition The mission of Australian Wildlife because it highlights the increasing success of our innovative conservation model and Conservancy (AWC) is the effective its application by AWC both on our own land and in conjunction with partners such as conservation of all Australian national parks agencies and the Defence Department. and the habitats in which they live.

In the Kimberley, AWC has been contracted by the Defence Department to deliver To achieve this mission our actions are land management and science across the country’s second-largest military training focused on: area. The Yampi Sound Military Training Area (Yampi) is one of Australia’s great natural areas, covering over 560,000 hectares of rugged sandstone ranges, rainforest • Establishing a network of sanctuaries patches, wetlands and stunning coastline. It is a vital refuge for some of Australia’s which protect threatened wildlife and most threatened species. This ground-breaking partnership – the first of its kind ecosystems: AWC now manages 26 sanctuaries covering over between Defence and a conservation organisation – is set to establish a template for 3.8 million hectares (9.5 million acres). the conservation management of other Defence properties. • Implementing practical, on-ground In western Queensland, AWC scientists have uncovered the largest known conservation programs to protect population of the endangered (and elusive) Night Parrot at Diamantina National Park. the wildlife at our sanctuaries: these AWC is developing a novel partnership with the Queensland Government, which will programs include feral animal control, deliver integrated conservation for a range of threatened species – including , fire management and the translocation Bilby, Plains Wanderer and, of course, the Night Parrot – at Diamantina and the nearby of . Astrebla Downs National Park. • Conducting (either alone or in Meanwhile, in the Pilliga forests of northern NSW, AWC has undertaken an extensive collaboration with other organisations) biological survey as part of another historic public-private partnership. Working with scientific research that will help address the key threats to our native wildlife. the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, AWC is set to reintroduce species which are listed as extinct in NSW, such as the Brush-tailed . Our • Hosting visitor programs at our baseline survey – the first significant survey in the northern Pilliga – generated exciting sanctuaries for the purpose of education records of Koalas, Barking Owls, Superb Parrots and Black-striped . and promoting awareness of the plight of Australia’s wildlife. Elsewhere across the AWC estate – the largest non-government conservation estate in Australia – our dedicated field staff continue to deliver effective land management (especially fire management and feral animal control), and world class science, often in About AWC remote and challenging conditions. It is a model that works, as evidenced by metrics • AWC is an independent, non-profit which track the population of key indicator species and our ability to limit the impact of organisation based in Perth, Western threats, such as wildfire. Australia. Donations to AWC are tax deductible. Most importantly, AWC is delivering success – such as higher populations of threatened species, including , Bilbies and – at lower cost. In • Over the last 10 years, around 87% of 2015/16, only 16% of our total operating expenditure was incurred on fundraising and AWC’s total expenditure was incurred administration – much lower than any comparable organisation in our sector. on conservation programs, including land acquisition, while only 13% was Thank you for your generous support of AWC: our achievements to date have been allocated to development (fundraising) possible only with your support. As you read this edition of Wildlife Matters, you can and administration. be sure that your tax deductible donations are delivering a tangible dividend where it counts – in the field. I hope you will continue to invest in our practical and effective conservation model – we are delighted to have you as part of the AWC team, helping to protect and restore Australia’s threatened wildlife. Australian Wildlife Conservancy Yours sincerely PO Box 8070 Subiaco East WA 6008 Ph: +61 8 9380 9633 www.australianwildlife.org

Atticus Fleming Cover image: Chief Executive McLarty Range, Yampi Sound Training Area

2 Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 Bringing back the Bilby

Greater Bilby at Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary W Lawler

The Greater Bilby is set to return to south- for the first time in several decades.

Working with our partners, including the WA Department of If current trends continue for other Bilby populations, AWC Parks and Wildlife and the Zoo and Aquarium Association, AWC projects will protect over half of the world’s Bilbies within the is set to reintroduce Bilbies to Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary next decade. within the next few months. The historic translocation is the Estimated Increase in next step in AWC’s program to restore wild Bilby populations Project Bilby pop global pop across Australia. Mt Gibson 600 6% The Bilby population has suffered a catastrophic decline in the Newhaven (stage 1) 700 7% last 150 years. Once found from the Great Dividing Range in eastern Australia to the edge of the Swan Coastal Plain and Newhaven (stage 2) 4,000 40% the Jarrah forests of the south-west, the Bilby is now extinct Pilliga 660 6.6% across 80% of its former range. It clings to survival in isolated, generally low density populations in arid Australia. The impact Mallee Cliffs 860 8.6% of feral predators – foxes and cats – has pushed the Bilby to the TOTAL 6,820 68.2% brink of . Less than 10,000 mature individuals remain and this number continues to decline. At Mt Gibson, the first Bilbies are scheduled for release this AWC is leading the way in the fight to restore Bilby populations. summer. Twenty Bilbies will be airlifted from Scotia and We currently protect around 15% of the remaining Bilby Yookamurra, with 20-30 additional Bilbies sourced from population, with almost 1,400 wild Bilbies occurring at Scotia WA Parks and Wildlife (Barna Mia) and the captive breeding Wildlife Sanctuary (western NSW) and Yookamurra (South program managed by the Zoo and Aquarium Association. A Australia). genetic analysis by the Australian Museum will help inform the selection of the founder population for Mt Gibson. The return of Bilbies to Mt Gibson is the next step in a national program of reintroductions by AWC and our partners, which will dramatically increase the population of Bilbies and the Please help return the Bilby to Mt Gibson number of secure wild populations. Existing AWC projects are set to increase the Bilby population by almost 7,000 Please donate to help with the cost of airlifting Bilbies (70%) over the next 5 – 10 years (see table). Together with our to Mt Gibson; purchasing transmitters; and supporting existing Bilby population of around 1,400 animals, AWC and our field ecologists who will oversee the historic return of partners will then protect over 8,000 Bilbies. Bilbies to south-western Australia. Visit www.australianwildlife.org or use the donation form with this edition of Wildlife Matters.

Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 3 AWC-Defence partnership to protect Kimberley jewel

Yampi includes around 700 kilometres of stunning coastline

Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and the Department of Defence (Defence) have forged a ground-breaking partnership to deliver conservation and land management across Australia’s second-largest military training area.

Yampi Sound Training Area (Yampi), which covers over 560,000 AWC have combined to establish an innovative partnership, which hectares along the Kimberley coast, is one of the most will protect the environment on Yampi consistent with its use as a important sites for conservation in Australia. Yampi is also an military training area. It is the first partnership of its kind between important site for the Australian Defence Force and maintaining Defence and a non-government organisation in Australia and has it in a sustainable manner is a priority for Defence. the potential to be a model for wider application. The historic Yampi partnership will see Australian Defence Force Central to the success of the partnership will be the involvement use of the training area integrated with the enhanced protection of Yampi’s traditional owners – the Dambimangari people. The of several of Australia’s most endangered species. This includes , such as the Golden-backed Tree-rat, that have initiative will deliver a significant increase in Dambimangari disappeared from large areas of mainland Australia and are now involvement at Yampi through employment as part of the AWC on- making a last stand along the north-west Kimberley coast. ground team, training and ongoing engagement in the design and delivery of fire management and other land management strategies. Protecting one of Australia’s great natural areas In the late 1970’s, the Commonwealth Government acquired two large pastoral leases (Kimbolton and Oobagooma), combining them to establish the vast Yampi Sound Training Area. In doing so, Defence secured an area of outstanding ecological significance, which today rivals any of our great national parks in its abundance and diversity of wildlife. Wildlife populations across most of northern Australia have crashed. Small mammals and many seed-eating are being driven toward extinction by a combination of feral cats, altered fire regimes and large feral herbivores (such as donkeys, buffalo and feral cattle). However, the declines have not occurred, or have been less severe, along the untouched north- west Kimberley coast. Places like Yampi and AWC’s nearby Charnley River-Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary are a vital last refuge for many threatened species. Recognising the national significance of Yampi is home to the world’s smallest rock-, the Monjon A Hartshorne Yampi for the protection of Australia’s biodiversity, Defence and

4 Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 Yampi Sound Training Area and adjacent AWC-managed land.

The extraordinary conservation values of Yampi

Yampi covers a massive 568,000 hectares (5,680 sq km) across three different bioregions: the Central Kimberley, the North Kimberley and Dampierland.

The landscape is spectacular, featuring rugged sandstone ranges and escarpments, tall mesas, a series of granite domes and inselbergs and scattered basalt intrusions. In the north and west of the property, an extensive coastline includes tidal mudflats and estuaries as well as rich mangrove forests. In places, steep-sided sandstone escarpments and ridges plunge into the ocean, creating one of Australia’s most visually stunning coastlines. In the centre and south-east, the property is dominated by extensive blacksoil plains, red sands (pindan) and rich red clay soils.

This complex geology and its position straddling three bioregions gives rise to an extraordinary floristic diversity. Yampi is expected to contain more than 1,000 plant species: over a third of all Kimberley plant species are found on this one property, including many rare and threatened plants, as well as endemic and undescribed species.

Yampi contains an exceptional diversity of ecosystems – several types of rainforest and vine thickets, a large variety of woodlands, pindan scrub, mangrove forests, marine swamps, freshwater wetlands and riparian communities, fire protected sandstone communities and blacksoil plains.

Rugged topography protects pockets of rainforest

Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 5 Sandstone escarpment overlooking coastal plains on Yampi

A hotspot for threatened and endemic wildlife

Large areas of Yampi remain biologically unexplored – only three fauna surveys have ever been undertaken on the property. However, even this limited survey effort, combined with our knowledge of adjacent areas, indicates that Yampi is home to a large number of species including an estimated 53 mammal species and 270 species. Yampi is particularly rich in reptiles, with 111 reptile species expected to occur.

A section of Yampi, along with AWC’s nearby Charnley River- Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary, falls within a narrow strip of the north-west Kimberley, which is the only part of mainland Australia to have suffered no faunal since European settlement. As a result, Yampi is a hotspot for threatened and endemic wildlife.

Yampi is home to a stunning list of nationally threatened animals including the Golden-backed Tree-rat, Northern , Golden Bandicoot, Gouldian Finch, Partridge Pigeon, Ghost Bat, Flatback Turtle, Red Goshawk and potentially the Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat and Greater Bilby.

Several species which are found on Yampi have disappeared from extensive areas of northern Australia, including protected areas such as . As an example, although the Golden-backed Tree-rat is extinct on the mainland, there is evidence of a strong population on Yampi – it still nests in the Kimbolton homestead!

Yampi and surrounds (including the Artesian Range) are also a last refuge for several rare and declining species, which are found nowhere else in Australia, including the Kimberley Rock- rat, Monjon, Rough-scaled Python and several other reptile The Wyulda, or Scaly-tailed Possum, is found only in the Kimberley species. A Hartshorne

6 Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 AWC Wildlife Ecologists Dr James Smith and Dr Melissa Bruton explore the McLarty Range

Delivering on ground conservation at Yampi

There is a sense of urgency about the AWC-Defence initiative Defence leadership at Yampi – protecting nationally significant at Yampi – decisive on-ground action is needed to prevent the conservation values in a manner consistent with the property’s wave of extinctions in northern Australia from reaching Yampi use as a military training area – is set to make a critical and the surrounding areas. Success at Yampi will secure a contribution to the conservation of Australia’s biodiversity. large area for biodiversity and could be a catalyst for action Watch out for updates as AWC and Defence implement this elsewhere. ground-breaking initiative.

AWC’s on-ground priorities at Yampi include:

• Biological surveys and monitoring: AWC ecologists will deliver an initial biological survey before the end of 2016, targeting key habitats (e.g., rainforest pockets, escarpment country) and key species (e.g., Golden- backed Tree-rats, Northern , Golden Bandicoots, Gouldian Finches). Most of the property is inaccessible, meaning the AWC team will be dropped in by helicopter to remote sites to deploy camera traps and undertake standard trapping. Our experience in the nearby Artesian Range will inform our initial survey design and the subsequent development of a property wide monitoring program.

• Delivering land management including fire management, feral animal control and weed control: AWC already delivers fire management across more than 3 million hectares in the Kimberley and has established the largest feral herbivore-free area in the region. Delivery of early dry season prescribed burns, and integrated feral animal control, will be critical to maintaining the ecological health of Yampi.

• Establishing infrastructure to support our operations and science team: Yampi is inaccessible for much of the year, so a high priority is to establish basic infrastructure to support a year-round AWC presence.

AWC Wildlife Ecologist Dr Melissa Bruton with a at Yampi

Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 7 AWC scientists uncover Night Parrot population on Diamantina National Park

AWC Senior Field Ecologist John Young at Diamantina National Park

Breaking news: AWC and Queensland Government join Large increase in known population of Night Parrots forces to secure largest known Night Parrot population The discovery of Night Parrots at Diamantina National Park was • AWC scientists, led by Senior Field Ecologist John Young, made as part of a joint initiative by AWC and the Queensland have discovered a Night Parrot population at Diamantina Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS). As part of this AWC-QPWS National Park. collaboration, AWC ecologists have carried out surveys for Night Parrots, Bilbies and other threatened species on Diamantina • Night Parrots were confirmed at seven locations on National Park. Diamantina National Park including: Potential Night Parrot habitat was initially identified by aerial - three nests (with birds observed in the vicinity of each nest); (helicopter) surveys, targeting areas of old growth spinifex - one sighting of a pair drinking; and located near the base of escarpments. The aerial surveys were followed up with extensive ground traverses to locate - three records of birds calling (heard by two observers). additional habitat and to assess the quality of identified habitat. • The discovery represents a major expansion of the known Dedicated searches for Night Parrots were then carried out by population and distribution for one of Australia’s rarest birds. AWC Senior Field Ecologist John Young – the man who first The Night Parrot was not seen alive for more than a century rediscovered the Night Parrot in 2013 – supported by other until rediscovered by John Young in 2013 on land north- AWC ecologists and skilled volunteers. east of Diamantina National Park. Our first record of a Night Parrot on Diamantina was obtained • Habitat analysis and modelling by AWC scientists indicates when John Young and AWC Senior Ecologist, Dr Rod Kavanagh, Diamantina National Park hosts the largest known were camped for the night near prospective habitat. Shortly population of the Night Parrot. after dusk, they heard the distinctive “ding ding” call of the male • AWC and the Queensland Government have joined bird. Across 25 days of field work, often in difficult conditions, forces to deliver an Intensive Response Plan including John Young and team located three nests (and observed birds the declaration by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service at these three nests), recorded birds at three locations by their of a restricted access area and the deployment by AWC distinctive call and, finally, observed two birds coming into drink. of specialist staff to help deliver immediate, dedicated Almost every record – such as the discovery of a nest with four conservation. eggs – has added important new information about the Night Parrot.

8 Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 Four Night Parrot eggs found in nest in spinifex J Young

One of the first ever images of a Night Parrot, taken by John Young Typical spinifex habitat of the Night Parrot J Young at Brighton Downs in 2013 J Young

AWC scientists have also developed a habitat model, which indicates a large area of Diamantina National Park is preferred roosting habitat for Night Parrots. It is hoped the model will help identify and protect additional populations of the Night Parrot across the region and potentially in other parts of Australia.

Intensive Response Plan in place at Diamantina QPWS and AWC have responded rapidly to the discovery by putting in place an Intensive Response Plan for the Night Parrot at Diamantina National Park: • A Restricted Access Area has been declared by QPWS, which prohibits unauthorised access east of the main road in Diamantina National Park (see map). • AWC and QPWS have mobilised additional resources to jointly deliver dedicated on-ground management at Diamantina National Park including: - feral cat control; and - removal of old cattle fences. Donate now to put Senior Field Ecologist John Young in the field for a day ($750) • A program of further surveys and research, led in the field by AWC ecologists including John Young, will generate We need to know more about Night Parrots, Bilbies and additional information on the size and distribution of the other threatened species at Diamantina. Night Parrot population. Please help support AWC’s field work at Diamantina, led by Senior Field Ecologist John Young. In addition to Night Parrots, Diamantina National Park is home to a range of other threatened species including the Bilby, It costs approximately $750 to put an ecologist, such Kowari and Plains Wanderer. An effective, integrated strategy is as John Young, in the field for one day including travel, required to protect all of these species from key threats, notably equipment, volunteer support and other costs. feral cats. A proposed feral cat-free (fenced) area, which could Fill in the donation form with this edition of Wildlife Matters or form part of an integrated strategy, will continue to be assessed donate online at www.australianwildlife.org by AWC over the next couple of years while additional surveys Each donation of $750 or more will receive a short illustrated are undertaken for priority species. report (minus location data) at the end of our 2016/17 Diamantina survey.

Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 9 Delivering field-based science across the nation

Flooded on Kalamurina W Lawler

Australian Wildlife Conservancy delivers the most extensive program of field science across the nation. At the heart of our science program are annual biological surveys – audits of ecological health – at each sanctuary. Here is a brief snapshot of the action from some recent surveys.

Kalamurina: Located adjacent to Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre in one Brooklyn: Brooklyn is a sanctuary of extraordinary diversity, of the world’s driest regions, Kalamurina has this year enjoyed ranging from highland rainforest to the savanna woodlands exceptional rainfall. Around 400 mm (more than twice the of the Mitchell River valley. Tracking its health is therefore a average annual rainfall) has fallen on the property, flooding the complex exercise, requiring a survey design which will measure Simpson and Tirari and causing the Warburton Creek a diverse range of indicators from rainforest frogs to the reptiles to flow almost all year. Taking advantage of these exceptional of the dry tropics. In September, our science team undertook conditions, our team of arid zone specialists were dropped live and camera trapping across 22 sites, recording a vast array by helicopter into unexplored country north of Lake Eyre to of important species including Northern Quolls, Yakka Skinks, sample habitats that have previously never been surveyed. The Rock-wallabies (a hybrid of Mareeba and Godman’s Rock- results confirmed a boom in small mammals following the good wallabies), Giant White-tailed Rats, Black-footed Tree-rats and conditions, with high capture rates of Desert Mice (a species small mammals, such as Northern Brown Bandicoots and the which has only been caught once before on Kalamurina) and Northern Short-tailed Mouse. the property’s first ever record of a Giles . Mornington: A dedicated team of AWC ecologists and highly skilled (and enthusiastic) volunteers carried out our annual waterhole-based bird survey – also known as the Finch Census. This survey involves 10 days of counting and recording the number and variety of birds coming to drink at over 80 km of central Kimberley waterways, generating data to help track populations of seed-eating birds. This year large numbers of Painted Finches were recorded along with a promising number of juvenile Gouldian Finches. Approximately 800 Pictorella Mannikins were recorded in one morning.

Other recent surveys have been carried out at Wongalara (featuring records of Hooded Parrots, Northern Nailtail Wallabies and a host of Top End reptiles), Paruna (our annual census of the threatened Black-flanked Rock-wallaby),Mt Gibson (where our reintroduced Woylie and populations continue to grow) and Karakamia (featuring a Brush-tailed ). As this edition of Wildlife Matters goes to print, AWC ecologists are Stripe-faced caught during survey at Kalamurina W Lawler also undertaking a survey across Piccaninny Plains on Cape York.

10 Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 AWC Senior Ecologist, Dr Rod Kavanagh, setting an acoustic recorder W Lawler Koala, now rare in the Pilliga, detected during our spotlight survey W Lawler

First major biological survey in the Pilliga

AWC ecologists have commenced the first major biological Across the Pilliga project area: survey of the Pilliga National Park and Pilliga State Conservation • 120 camera traps have been deployed (two per site). Area (Pilliga project area), as part of an innovative partnership These camera traps will help measure the density of native with the NSW Government. It is a critical first step in an exciting fauna as well as tracking the density of feral animals, such project that will see the return to the Pilliga of species like the as cats and goats. Bilby, which has been extinct in the region for almost a century. • At each site, three bird surveys were conducted during spring, to be repeated in the autumn survey After a couple of months of planning (and waiting for the rain to stop!), AWC ecologists are now in the field delivering an • Three nocturnal surveys were conducted at each site intensive biological survey across the 35,000 hectare Pilliga including spotlighting transects and call playback/active project area. The survey represents the first detailed inventory listening for species like owls and Koalas. of the plants and animals of this location. As such, it will help • In the autumn survey, small mammals and reptiles will be fill some important gaps in our knowledge of the Pilliga. More monitored using cage traps, Elliott traps, pitfall traps and broadly, the survey is designed to provide a baseline against funnel traps. Vegetation surveys will also be conducted which future changes in the ecological health of the property across all sites. can be measured. This reflects a very significant investment in science: more than We will be seeking to track the changes in ecological health – 10,000 trap nights per annum (increasing further when mammal including populations of key indicator species – which occur as reintroductions begin). a result of the removal of feral animals and the reintroduction of ecosystem engineers (small mammals such as the Brush-tailed Highlights of the Pilliga survey to date include: Bettong and the Bilby, which turn over soil and assist in nutrient • A suite of threatened birds including Speckled Warblers, and water cycling). Grey-crowned Babblers, Superb Parrots, Turquoise Parrots and Brown Treecreepers. Across the Pilliga project area, our team has established 60 permanent monitoring sites. These sites will be surveyed twice • Koalas have been detected during our nocturnal surveys – a year – in spring and autumn. This regime will enable us to important records for a species that has declined sharply in the Pilliga. measure any changes in ecological health across the entire project area and will identify any differences in health between • Several Barking Owl territories have been identified. the feral predator-free area (~5,000 ha), when established, and the balance of the project area. • The Black-striped Wallaby, threatened in NSW, was detected during a nocturnal survey. Sugar gliders have also been recorded.

Our initial fauna survey at Mallee Cliffs National Park (also part of our partnership with the NSW Government) will commence in November.

Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 11 The science of feral predator-free areas

Feral-predator proof fence at Mt Gibson J Kalinkina

AWC is leading the way in establishing a national network of feral predator-free areas ranging from south-west Australia (Karakamia, Mt Gibson) through central Australia (Newhaven), South Australia (Yookamurra) and into NSW (the Pilliga, Mallee Cliffs and Scotia).

These projects will deliver a substantial increase in the global Collectively, the data also highlights the impact of feral cats populations of at least 16 nationally threatened mammal species. and foxes: when such predators are excluded, populations of The establishment of feral-free areas is also supporting a major threatened, small to medium-sized mammals increase rapidly. program of scientific research addressing issues critical to the At Scotia, for example, the reintroduced Bilby population has increased from 400 in 2010 to 1,170 in 2015 (see graph). This conservation of Australia’s wildlife. stands in stark contrast to the ongoing decline of most small to Measuring success: feral-free areas are the best medium-sized mammal species in areas where feral cats and conservation strategy for many endangered mammals foxes occur.

The feral-free areas established by AWC make possible the Bilby (total),Bilby, Stages 1 Scotiaand 2, Scotia 900 800 Stage 1 Stage 2 restoration (rewilding) of threatened mammals into parts of their 1600 700 600 former range – in some cases, we are reintroducing mammals 500 400 1400 300 into areas where they have been extinct for over a century. 200 100 Once reintroduced, a key scientific challenge is to measure 1200 0 Jun-10 Jun-11 Jun-12 Jun-13 Jun-14 Jun-15 Sep-10 Sep-11 Sep-12 Sep-13 Sep-14 Sep-15 Dec-10 Dec-11 Dec-12 Dec-13 Dec-14 Dec-15 Mar-11 Mar-12 Mar-13 Mar-14 Mar-15 Mar-16 (census) the new population at regular intervals. 1000 AWC is consistently tracking the populations of a range of 800 species including Numbats, Bilbies, Burrowing Bettongs, 600 Brush-tailed Bettongs, Bridled Nailtail Wallabies and Tammar Wallabies. We generate annual population estimates for all of 400

these species and more. As a result, the AWC science team of individuals Number 200 has accrued a level of experience and expertise in monitoring threatened mammals that is unique within the non-government 0 conservation sector. Jul-12 Jan-15 Jun-10 Jun-15 Oct-13 Apr-11 Sep-11 Feb-12 Dec-12 Aug-14 Nov-10 Nov-15 Mar-14 The data at AWC properties tells a spectacular story. Our feral May-13 predator-free areas protect a high proportion of the global Bilby population estimates at Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary population of many threatened mammals – for example, around 85% of the Bridled Nailtail Wallaby population, around 25% of the Numbat population and around 15% of the Bilby population.

12 Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 Numbat release at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary Bilby diggings (Scotia) illustrate their role as ecosystem engineers. W Lawler

There are large gaps in our knowledge of the ecology of many Assessing the ecological role of threatened mammals of Australia’s endangered mammal species. AWC ecologists are generating important new information about several The loss of small to medium-sized mammals across Australia in species, undertaking intensive research in relation to population the last 200 years has been catastrophic and unprecedented dynamics, movement and habitat preferences for reintroduced on a global scale. These mammals had several important mammals. ecological roles, including seed dispersal, seed and disturbance of the soil and litter layer. At Mt Gibson, Woylies were fitted with radio-tracking collars The disappearance of these mammals (the combined population before being released, enabling AWC ecologists to obtain ‘fixes’ across Australia would have been in the billions) is likely to have of day and night-time locations; these data are being evaluated had severe consequences for the way our landscapes function. to assess dispersal, home range and movement patterns. Movement data are being combined with a detailed vegetation When AWC reintroduces a mammal like the Bilby or the Brush- map to determine habitat preferences. Such information will tailed Bettong into a landscape, we are restoring ecological be invaluable in refining optimal release sites and strategies for processes that had come to an abrupt halt with the spread future reintroductions. of feral cats and foxes. Returning these ecological engineers can be expected to have significant effects on the structure, Feral-proof fences are also the best conservation composition and dynamics of vegetation as well as on strategy for many extant species processes, such as nutrient and water retention. AWC ecologists are now implementing a research project AWC research involving surveys of matched habitats inside which will provide Australia’s first systematic, continent-wide and outside our feral-free areas is also generating important assessment of the ecological role of threatened mammals. The information about the broader ecological benefits of removing results will provide valuable information on the functioning of feral cats and foxes. At Scotia, for example, a number of Australian ecosystems in the presence of critical weight range species of small mammals, including Bolam’s Mouse and mammals – i.e., it will help us understand how our ecosystems Southern , have persisted across the landscape despite should function under the conditions in which they evolved. the impacts of feral predators. These species did not need to be reintroduced – however, our surveys have demonstrated that The research involves establishing, at each sanctuary where both species are now more abundant in the feral-free areas. For mammals will be reintroduced, replicate 1 ha plots in major example, in 2015: vegetation types, matched inside and outside the feral predator- free fenced area. At each plot, the structure and composition • 35 Southern were captured in small mammal of the vegetation is surveyed in a standardised, systematic and surveys inside the feral predator-free areas, while only repeatable way. Ground stratum plants are counted on 120, 1 x three individuals were captured from an equivalent 1 m quadrats; ground cover, shrub cover and canopy cover are trapping effort outside the fence. measured at a total of 505 points, and trees are assessed in a series of nested quadrats, depending on size-class, with large • Seven individuals of Bolam’s Mouse were caught inside diameter trees measured over the entire 1 ha plot. the feral predator-free area, but only one individual was recorded beyond the fence. The results will shed new light on the role of our small to medium-sized mammals including their effect on vegetation The positive effect of removing feral cats and foxes also dynamics. Such information is critical to saving our endangered extends to some small ground-dwelling birds, with the Striated mammals and restoring our depleted landscapes. Grasswren more commonly recorded inside the feral predator- free area than outside.

Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 13 Battling wildfires in the Kimberley

Backburning to stop the wildfire that threatened Charnley River-Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary

AWC is one of the few conservation organisations that goes into battle systematically against wildfires in northern Australia. In addition to our program of prescribed burning, AWC’s fire management strategy extends to mobilising people and equipment to suppress hot wildfires that threaten to engulf habitat in the late dry season. Effective prescribed burning is critical – it reduces the risk of late dry season fires and, importantly, makes it easier to suppress any late season fires that do occur.

The importance of fighting wildfires was demonstrated in August The AWC team cleared the fenceline of debris and this year when a major fire threatened the Charnley River- extinguished any spot fires that jumped the fence. We back Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary (Charnley River). Here is how burned off some sections of the fence. the event unfolded: • A significant stretch of the front jumped the fence in one • On 20 July, a fire started at the community dump on section (refer point B), requiring sustained suppression by staff Mt Barnett station. The ignition point was located using fire units (water) and leaf blowers. Our team then headed approximately 32 kilometres east of the Charnley River boundary (refer ignition point on map). north, arriving just as the fire jumped Maurice Creek (refer point C). Despite ferrying staff by helicopter ahead of the front, the • Pushed by prevailing winds, the fire burnt steadily in a fire could not be stopped. The AWC team fell back, waiting north-westerly direction. Within days, it had crossed until nightfall and the opportunity to back burn again off creeks the boundary of Mt Barnett Station and entered crown and roads (refer point D). land. The fire burnt through the crown land where no management intervention occurred. • The back burns were executed with success, helping to extinguish the northern front. However, as staff began the long • By 2 August, the fire was approaching the Charnley River journey home, chopper surveillance picked up a new outbreak boundary. At this stage, the fire had burnt over 68,000 hectares, where the fire on its southern flank had jumped the fence again most of it on crown land. The fire was intense – burning and consuming most of the vegetation in its path. The (refer point E). The AWC team spent hours seeking to contain adverse impact of a fire like this on biodiversity is significant. this new front. Ultimately, it petered out at night when it reached an area that had been burned in our 2015 prescribed • AWC’s Kimberley team was mobilised. Nine field staff (land fires. This highlights the value of prescribed burning in limiting managers and scientists) plus a helicopter and vehicles the effects of late season wildfires. carrying water units were deployed for nearly a week to protect Charnley River Wildlife Sanctuary. Conditions were • However, this was not the end of it. A week later, a section of extreme – over 35 degrees with strong winds. fire had crept along the crown land and re-entered Charnley River further north (refer point F). AWC staff were dropped in • After assessing the fire front by helicopter, our initial by helicopter and, as night fell, back burnt along Slaty Creek. response was to stop the fire at a fenceline just inside the Some of this front was pulled up by a 2016 fire scar (refer Charnley River boundary (refer point A on map). point G).

14 Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016 AWC wildfire suppression campaign (July - August 2016)

Ultimately, AWC’s efforts to extinguish this fire prevented tens of As this edition was going to print, a separate Kimberley fire thousands of hectares – possibly more – from being consumed that burnt over 1 million hectares was extinguished by a team in a hot, extensive wildfire. Such fires are a disaster for our of AWC staff (including ecologist Rosie Hohnen, pictured), wildlife. They remove cover and make it easier for feral cats to pastoral neighbours, indigenous rangers and government hunt small mammals, such as the Pale Field Rat; they reduce agencies. The southern front of the fire was extinguished the availability of food at critical times of the year for seed-eating when it reached AWC’s Marion Downs Wildlife Sanctuary. birds like the Gouldian Finch and fruit-eating mammals like the Golden-backed Tree-rat; and they reduce the quality of habitat for species like bandicoots, which need a mix of burnt and long unburnt country.

AWC has a strong team of fire managers across northern Australia, delivering the only fire management program which extends from the Kimberley to Cape York. Through a combination of ecologically-based prescribed burning and active fire suppression, AWC leads the way in fire management to protect habitat for the wildlife of northern Australia.

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Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Reply Paid 8070 Subiaco East WA 6008 | Phone: (08) 9380 9633 | www.australianwildlife.org ABN 36 068 572 556 16 Wildlife Matters: Spring 2016